Casual Hunting [Bandit/Open]

As much as Blizzardclaw didn't like climbing, he was perfectly fine living in the trees while on the ground. He could never imagine himself living in any other Clan, or even outside of the Clans. The bird song was a soothing balm on anxious minds, the wind whispering through the leaves brought comfort to those aching with worries.

The tasty prey didn't hurt either. Blizzardclaw grinned as he sniffed the air, finding all sorts of delectable scents. There was a squirrel downwind of him, some birds in the air, and ooh, a vole! All three would make tasty treats for the Clan, though he hoped to snag the vole himself. Venomwind had always had a penchant for squirrels while Snowheart vastly preferred robin.

He'd have to make sure to catch at least one of all three. It was the height of Greenleaf, and prey was practically leaping into the hunting patrols' claws. Truthfully he didn't even need to be out here. As deputy, he could just shunt off his work on some lesser being who should be grateful to do his bidding. Blizzardclaw had never been very good at laziness though, something Snowheart had always teased him for.

Deciding on where he would go, Blizzardclaw went for the vole first. Less chance of having to chase it up a tree. He kept his paws light on the ground as he prowled. Though voles were bigger than mice, hunting them was basically the same. It was more difficult for him than it was for smaller cats, since his size meant he was heavier than others.

It wasn't very long before he spotted the gluttonous little rodent, and an even shorter time before it fell beneath his paw, breaking it's neck. Blizzardclaw bowed his head over it and intoned, as was only respectful, "Thank you, StarClan, for giving us this prey."

Words: 305
Tagged: Bandit
Notes: For Birdsong!

Birdsong
» Take me under your wing tonight

It had been some time since Birdsong had ventured outside the camp without the accompaniment of a hunting party. Indeed, his fearfulness, added to his stark white coat, had not lent themselves to productive outings, even with others along for the trip. Not in this season at least. In winter, with the fields awash with glimmering snow as pure as his coat, he would be lucky enough to bring a sparrow or two back to camp.

But now, with the forest in the height of Greenleaf, he stuck out like... well, like the albino oddity that he was. Furthermore, his tendency for cleanliness did not permit him to camouflage himself better. He could of course roll around in an algae-riddled mud puddle in hopes of blending in with the vegetation, but that was not likely to happen.

But he just had to leave the camp. His hind leg ached from a long, uncomfortable nap atop an obnoxious twig in his nest that he was too tired to remove. His tongue itched with the urge to speak to some cat, any cat, who might fulfill his extroverted needs. The camp was empty, most of the warriors having already departed, and Frostbite would not tolerate his insistence to help her sort her herbs for the hundredth time that week.

So he wandered aimlessly for a time, hoping perhaps he might be lucky enough to come across prey to bring back without being startled out of his coat first. As luck would have it, he eventually came upon the deputy and his recent catch. "A very nice vole you have there," he congratulated the tom with a congenial grin. Finally, someone to talk to!

Blizzardclaw looked around for somewhere secure and out of the way to bury his vole. He wanted to make sure it wasn't taken and he'd be able to find it easily. Perhaps beneath that bramble bush, so if something sniffed it out they couldn't get to it? Prey was scarce this greenleaf, almost as bad as leafbare.

A flash of white appeared at the edge of his vision, and he turned to see the red-eyed warrior Birdsong approaching with a smile. "A very nice vole you have there!" he meowed. Blizzardclaw looked back at the vole and sighed a little forlornly. "For whatever it's worth. The queens and elders will need to share it if I can't catch anything more."

He glanced at Birdsong and frowned thoughtfully before nodding decisively. "You're just going to have to help me find more. I heard some birds earlier that I'll need your help to catch, but it could very well have been my imagination." Blizzardclaw glared out at nothing, eyes dark and worried. "It wouldn't be the first time."

Finally deciding on a hiding place, the deputy gingerly picked up the vole and padded over to the bramble bush. He had to force his way through to bury it, leaving tufts of light gray fur on the prickly thorns, but at least it meant nothing hungrier than them would find it. When he was done, he retreated to look once more at Birdsong. "Birds first or the squirrel?" he asked, deceptively blase about the whole thing. He'd let his denmate make the decision.

Words: 258
Tagged: Bandit
Notes: Pretend the first post mentioned the lack of prey instead of the abundance of it.

Birdsong
» Take me under your wing tonight

Watching as the deputy searched for a hiding place, Birdsong felt his heart sink. Everyone in the clan was experiencing rough times with the lack of prey. Nodding solemnly at the mentioning of this, Birdsong sighed and tried to think positively -- more for his own good than the deputy's, however. He had grown tired of all the sullen conversations in camp and was hoping that his outing would lighten his spirits. "I don't know what happened at Fourtrees, but we shouldn't dwell on it. Let's focus on the now." He paused to rub a paw over his nose, which had begun to itch, as it often did when he was tempted to lie. "I want to help."

Birdsong trembled slightly at the idea of hunting his namesake. He was not afraid of getting bark between his claws -- he had scrambled up enough oaks and maples to hide from bullies and badgers alike during his apprenticeship and even afterward as a warrior -- but he was not keen on trying to catch anything in a tree, or climb down from a tree, or generally do anything in a tree that did not involve scaling it and staying there until he had no choice but to hesitantly mosey his way to the ground again. Getting down had always been a problem for him. "Maybe squirrels instead?" he suggested. "I'm not fast, but if we work together, maybe we could set a trap so they can't escape."